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Sunday, April 13, 2008

NaPoWriMo Lucky 13

Writing Prompt for anyone interested--Find a recipe with an interesting name and incorporate parts of the recipe into your poem.

She Adds a Dash of Cumin to Lucky Pea Soup

She dices the peppers. Thirty-nine

degrees and falling. Last night, her birthday

and the woman she was raised her pen

to the moon to crossed out another year,

wrote loss. She sees her body in the curve

of the letters and not the words.

She sees the letters she never wrote

in the chili powder. She places bacon

in the skillet and the pop of grease

surprises her, a celebration of heat.

She cannot tell you why she cried

in spice aisle of the grocery store,

why she turned away when she saw a friend

she knew. It’s easier to suffer alone,

with a cold night and diced tomatoes.

It’s easier to suffer when moonlight

is your best lighting, when the fine lines

only appear near the window.

She cannot imagine her lifespan

without black-eyed peas, without

someone to share them with.

She knows her husband will return soon.

She knows she cannot push away sadness.

She adds a dash of cumin because it keeps

the chickens and lovers from straying.

She stirs together what she’s mixed.

* * * * *

LUCKY PEA SOUP

INGREDIENTS

· 4 slices bacon

· 1 green bell pepper, chopped

· 1 small onion, chopped

· 2 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, undrained

· 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

· 1 cup water

· 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

· 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin

· 1 1/4 teaspoons dry mustard

· 1 teaspoon chili powder

· 1/2 teaspoon curry powder

· 1/2 teaspoon pepper

· 1/2 teaspoon sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the bacon in a skillet and cook over medium-high heat until crisp and evenly brown. Drain on paper towels. When cool, crumble into small pieces.

2. Using the same skillet, add the peppers and onion; stir and cook over medium-high heat until transparent and tender, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour the black beans, tomatoes, and water into a large pot. Stir in the peppers, onion, salt, cumin, dry mustard, chili powder, curry powder, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot sprinkled with bacon, and other toppings of your choice.